Arlington Pet of the Week: Lester

This week’s Arlington Pet of the Week is Lester, an adopted tabby cat that lives with a group of UVA graduates in Virginia Square

Here’s what a friend of the roommates had to say about Lester and his adoptive owners.

When [a group of] roommates — four guys fresh out of college at the University of Virginia — decided that they wanted to adopt a cat, they knew right away that they wanted to rescue an older animal. An adult cat, they suspected, would be less likely to be adopted by another family than a kitten, and it would fare better in a house that was often bustling with people and activity. It was love at first sight when they spotted Lester, a year-old, buff-colored Tabby from the Washington Humane Society in early January 2012. Lester had been waiting by the entrance to the Humane Society’s ‘Kitty City’, and right away when they entered, he reached out a paw to engage them.

Despite how smooth their introduction was, Lester’s first night in the Virginia Square neighborhood house was far more disastrous. After only five minutes out-of-sight of his new owners, Lester somehow managed to find an entrance to a crawl space in the wall, where he fell six feet down, fully out of reach. It took five hours, three failed sling-contraptions, and a staircase made out of a stack of 10 dropped-in Amazon shipping boxes to finally pull him out.

Since then; however, Lester has become an integral member of the household. The crawl space has been taped up and he now spends his time napping in the living room during house parties, sitting in on band practice sessions, watching basketball and football games along with everyone else, constantly demanding food, and hogging too many blankets on the bed at night. Although he splits his time half indoors, half outdoors, he never strays far from the backyard, where he likes to chase birds, squirrels, and flying bugs.

The Arlington Pet of the Week is sponsored by Dogma Bakery, which has locations at The Village at Shirlington (2772 S. Arlington Mill Drive) and the Lee Harrison Shopping Center (2445 N. Harrison Street).

Want your pet to be considered to be the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email office@arlnow.com with a 2-3 paragraph bio and 3-4 photos of your pet. Each week’s winner receives a $25 Dogma gift card.